The Importance of Science for Young Children

It is often difficult to think of science and math activities interesting very young children.  After all, math can make you think of long, boring classes and old algebra books, and who can forget the bunsen burners in high school chemistry?

However, science and math are both vital to children's development, and can be explored through all kinds of fun activities.  In this post, we'll talk about easy ways to incorporate science activities into your home life.

Science for children this age consists mostly of exploration.  They are using their senses to learn about the world around them, and have an inborn desire to learn.  No formal lessons are needed, just chances for exploration!

Provide materials for exploration

One of the benefits of our classroom that children enjoy is the set up of our "centers."  We have a sensory table where children can play with different materials.  We provide water and dish soap to make bubbles, and cornstarch mixed with water to make "goop"!  We often add other things like rocks and pebbles, so the children can experience the sensation of rough versus smooth.  The children also enjoy pouring materials into different containers to learn how things like water are disbursed.  

Set up situations so children can ask questions and experiment

If your child is playing in the sandbox in your backyard, you can provide containers and water, and ask a question such as, "I wonder what would happen if we mixed the water and the sand?"  From there, your child can experiment to see what happens, which will lead to more questions, such as, "Why is water mixed with sand heavier?"  "Why can I build with wet sand but not dry?"  This can be done often, such as in the kitchen when cooking, planting a flower garden, or letting them use pots and pans as instruments to find out how each of them sounds.

Encourage them to reason and draw conclusions

Your child may have an idea about why things are the way they are.  Encourage them to talk about it, and come up with their own questions and hypotheses.  Questions often lead to more questions, which can lead to more exploration!

Don't focus too much on the "right" answer

As they get older, children will be required to provide the "correct answers," but at this age, they're just figuring out the world around them.  If they are experimenting and exploring, they may come up with the wrong answers, and right now, that's OK!  Feel free to read books together about the subject and explore it further.

Other science activities are posted in the entry below, and an article explaining the importance of science for kids is posted on the right.